


Estas Son Las Mañanitas

by nachocheese26



Series: The Gangsitter [2]
Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Rio wants to keep business and personal life separate, Rio's family makes an appearance, but they're both terrible at it, so does Beth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2020-11-07 22:55:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20825168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nachocheese26/pseuds/nachocheese26
Summary: Beth owes him money. But she doesn't have it and Rio's getting impatient. The evening he plans to collect it doesn't go according to plan.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this turned into a longer fic than I originally planned...hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!
> 
> Also, I am accepting prompts for this series! Send me ideas at my tumblr: nachocheese-itsmycheese.tumblr.com

"You were short last week," Rio said, glancing at Beth for a moment, before turning his attention back to the swing set where Marcus and Jane were. Marcus was telling Jane something that made her stop completely.

"I know, we're working on it," Beth responded, looking at her other three kids that were running around between the slides and the monkey bars.

Rio clicked his tongue. "Thought we were past this, mama."

"It's just been kind of busy week for all of us. Ruby's husband had that court date and Annie's had to pick up some extra shifts-"

"Don't want your excuses. I just want my money." He started frowning a little. Not because of their conversation though. But because Jane had gotten off her swing and stood directly in front of Marcus.

What was she thinking?

"If you can give us...oh my God, what is she doing?"

Rio watched with an amused smile as Marcus attempted to stop his swing to avoid hitting Jane. But his kid was still too short and his feet couldn't touch the ground. He collided with Jane, but she had held her arms out and as soon he hit her, she wrapped her arms around him, tumbled to the ground together, and rolled over until she was sitting on top of Marcus and seemed to be yelling at him.

Considering that neither of them were actually injured, Rio started laughing.

"Oh my God, Jane!" Beth got up and started yelling, but Rio grabbed her arm and pulled her back down to the bench.

"Nah, mama, let 'em take care of this," Rio said.

Jane and Marcus had heard Beth, but seeing that Rio had stopped her from going over there, Jane continued with whatever it was she was trying to do to Marcus.

"I've talked to all four of them about this," Beth said, her voice sounding mortified. "I've told them to stop sitting on each other."

Rio started laughing again. "She ain't doin' him no harm and I can tell you for a fact that Marcus' gotten into worse with his cousins."

Beth turned to look at him. "And you do nothing?"

Rio shrugged. "So long as I ain't gotta take him to the hospital."

Beth scoffed and rolled her eyes, fighting the urge to get up since Rio would just grab her and pulled her back down again.

But then Marcus finally stopped squirming under Jane, told her something and Jane grinned. She got up and helped Marcus up as well. She was bouncing on her feet and gesturing wildly and talking. Marcus didn't look too happy though, his arms crossed and a pout on his face as he stared at the ground.

Jane noticed, said something else, then pulled Marcus into a tight hug, which he reluctantly returned.

Rio looked over at Beth with a smug grin. "See. They got it handled."

Beth shook her head, still watching as the two started talking. Then she tilted her head in curiosity as they yelled for Kenny and ran up to him. "What are they ever talking about?"

Rio shrugged. "Ain't none of my business." He turned to look at Beth again. "What I do want to know is when you're gonna get me my money?"

* * *

All week, her kids acted weirder than normal. As if the four of them were all in on some kind of secret.

Normally, Beth would've tried getting it out of one of them. Usually from Jane since she couldn't keep a secret in the first place, or she would bribe Danny with homemade cinnamon rolls.

But her attention wasn't on trying to find out whatever secret it was they had. Because they owed Rio fifty thousand and so far had only come up with ten thousand.

He told her he wanted it by Saturday before midnight. Beth tried arguing, telling him that she couldn't do that since Dean had changed plans on her and couldn't take the kids until Sunday morning.

He wrote back and said that wasn't his problem.

And of course, she got that message when she was at the grocery store with all of the kids and they were hovering more than usual, asking her questions and talking loudly and not letting her think. And halfway through that trip, she counted them, then counted them again and then once more and frowned as she looked around and asked where Danny was.

The question seemed to trigger something in the kids and they basically surrounded her, bombarding her with even more questions and talking at once and Beth _couldn't think_!

Before she could snap at them and say they were all grounded and ask where Danny was again, they stopped. Beth counted again, and they were all there, hanging around her and the cart. Danny looked up at her with a smile and asked if she was going to buy more milk.

Now, it was Saturday evening and she didn't have the money and she had no idea what Rio was going to do.

"Mom, can we go out to eat tonight?"

Beth looked up from her 'Book Club' calendar to Kenny. "No, we've got leftovers in the fridge."

Kenny shook his head though. "It's all gone."

"No, we didn't even eat half of the beef stew last night..." Beth opened the fridge to pull out the container she was sure was there.

But it wasn't there.

"That's weird," she mumbled to herself, moving things around to see if somehow ended up in the back of the fridge. But it wasn't there and in fact, she didn't have anything that she could whip up really quick. Beth let out a heavy sigh, closing the fridge and looking at Kenny. "How about we order some pizza instead?"

Kenny shook his head. "It's because there's this really cool restaurant that Jared from school keeps talking about and I wanted to go."

"What kind of restaurant?"

"Um, Italian!"

Kenny seemed to be biting the inside of his cheek. A telltale sign that he was lying. But why would he be lying right now about a restaurant? Beth was too tired to figure out what he could be lying about and resigned herself to the fact that she was going to have to go through whatever consequence was in store for her for not paying Rio back.

Might as well enjoy one last stress-free night with her kids. "All right, let's get going then."

It was the strangest thing though because within ten minutes, all four kids were ready and waiting for _her_ at the door.

Beth was tidying up a few things in the kitchen, putting away her calendar, and she paused to watch her kids.

They were huddled around each other, whispering while zipping up coats and pulling on beanies. Jane especially seemed to be bouncing with excited energy.

Beth knew they were up to something, but she honestly couldn't bring herself to care at the moment. Maybe tomorrow morning and maybe then it wouldn't actually be her problem. Dean could deal with them and whatever it was they were trying to hide.

“All right, everyone ready to go?” Beth asked as she walked into the foyer where the kids had gathered.

They all nodded, doing their best not to appear suspicious.

Oh God, they were terrible at hiding the fact that they were up to something. Part of her actually wanted to teach them how to put on a good poker face.

Kenny gave her the name of the restaurant once they were all in the van to put into the navigation system. D-Mari's Grill.

Beth turned to look at Kenny who avoided looking at her. "This says it's a Mexican restaurant."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess it is," Kenny said with a forced laugh and finally looking at her.

Beth shook her head. She wasn't sure anymore she even wanted to know what they up to.

But they were too quiet throughout the drive and it was actually starting to concern her. Halfway there, Beth turned to look at the kids as she stopped at red light. “You four are oddly quiet tonight. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, we’re just really excited because-!”

Danny cut off Jane. “Because Kenny said that there’s a ball pit at the restaurant!”

“Really?” Beth grabbed her phone to pull up the restaurants website. “I didn’t see anything about that on the reviews…”

“Mom, the light’s green,” Kenny pointed out before she could pull up the website.

She set the phone down and kept driving. And she felt she almost got it out of them. Well, at least out of Jane.

Beth didn't get a chance to look at her phone the rest of the drive. She pulled into the parking lot with a small frown. "It looks kind of deserted..."

"Yeah, but look, there's lights on, so it's open!" Kenny said, opening the door and already climbing out of the van before Beth could turn it off.

They walked across the parking lot and before Emma could walk in, Beth stopped her. There was a sign on the door that said it was closed for a family event. “Oh, I’m sorry kiddos, looks like we're going to have to go somewhere else for dinner."

"Oh, but this was for last night actually. They're open tonight." Danny quickly explained.

"Yeah, it doesn't-"

But he didn't listen, going in front of his sister and opened the door to walk in

“Danny!” Beth reached out to stop him, but then the rest of the kids followed in and Beth had no other choice but to go in as well. “Kids! Listen to me!” she hissed, looking around at the small crowd gathered in the restaurant who hadn’t taken notice of them yet.

There were streamers and balloons and all the free standing tables had been moved to create one long table in the middle. The kids looked around excitedly while Beth looked around in horror and embarrassment.

“Excuse me, we’re closed tonight.”

And they had finally been caught. Beth blindly reached out to pull one of her kids towards her. She wasn’t sure which one she had grabbed since she was staring at the man in front of her.

He was a heavy-set man, but Beth knew the majority of it was muscle. In some aspects, he reminded her of Demon or Bullet. And even to a point, Rio.

Actually, now that she looked at him, it almost looked as if he had the same exact nose as Rio…

“God, I’m so sorry,” Beth said, pulling herself out of her thoughts though, looking down to see that she had grabbed Emma. “You know kids, they’re just so curious and I’m really embarrassed-“

“Marcus invited us!” Jane announced as she stood in front of the man.

His face actually softened. “That so?” Then he turned around and called over his shoulder, “Hey lil’ man! You got some friends over here!”

Beth blinked, trying to make eye contact with one of kids. "What...?"

And there was the sound of little feet running towards them. “You made it!” Marcus exclaimed, jumping in front of them and returning their bright smiles.

Danny pulled out a present he had stuffed under his coat. It was poorly wrapped with a sky blue wrapping paper that had sparkly rainbows and unicorns. “Where are we supposed to put this?”

“I’ll give it to Tio Junior. He’s in charge of all the presents. And this is Tio Charlie! That’s Jane, Emma, Danny, Kenny and Miss Lizbeth, their mommy.”

“Welcome to the party. We’ve got drinks over there and we’re about to start serving the food once lil’ man’s dad gets here.” Charlie said with a smile.

This was Rio’s _family_?!

Beth prayed the small laugh that escaped her mouth didn't sound nervous. Going by the odd look Charlie gave her though, Beth doubted it. “Um, Marcus, honey? When exactly did you invite us? I mean, why didn’t you actually tell me it was your birthday?”

“Wait, you think this is all for him?” Charlie asked for a frown. Then he looked down at the kids. “What's the deal, lil' man?” He directed his question to Marcus

“It’s because I was scared Miss Lizbeth was going to accidentally tell Daddy something because they work together a lot and-“

“Marcus told me on the playground that he had a secret and he finally said that it was a surprise party for his daddy-“

“-and we knew you’d say no in the first place too-“

“-we already got him the birthday present!”

"Come on, Mom, we weren't even going to do anything tonight!"

“Oh, so you’re _the_ Elizabeth. Yeah, Christopher told us all about your kids,” Charlie said as he nodded in understanding. Then he began laughing. “He wasn’t wrong when he said you got your hands full.”

“I…it’s…we really can’t…” Beth floundered for words, looking back and forth between the kids and Charlie.

But before she could form a coherent though, another man began addressing everyone gathered.

“Listen up! Damian texted! They just pulled up, so everyone, grab a spot to hide!”

Everyone scattered, whispering and muffling laughs as they found a spot. Beth’s kids ran, choosing to hide with Marcus under a table. She found herself being pulled along by Charlie and the two of them crouched behind a bar.

It was quiet except for the occasional giggles she could hear from several kids, especially from Jane and Marcus

The door opened and everyone jumped out from their places, some even popping a few noisemakers. "Surprise!"

Except it wasn't Rio. It was another man that looked like a mixture of Charlie and Rio.

He shook his head and stuffed his hands into his coat pockets. "Flaco said he had to make a quick business call. He's been pissy the entire way over, complaining about some issue with a partner.

And as soon as he finished speaking, Beth's phone started ringing. Everyone turned to look at her.

Beth felt her cheeks burning as she pulled out her phone and tried to ignore the whispers in Spanish, most likely them asking if anyone knew who she was.

Of course, it was Rio's name flashing across the screen. She looked up at Charlie who was giving her a curious look. "Sorry, I have to take this." She cleared her throat and slid back down behind the bar. "Hello?"

_"You got my money yet?"_

"No. I mean, well...it's not even time yet!" Beth hissed into the phone, grateful she to be hiding behind the bar.

Rio sucked in air through his teeth. _"Really testin' me here, mami."_

"Look, you didn't tell me when-"

_"An hour."_

"Okay, but-"

_"The park."_

"I have the kids tonight though."

_"Bring 'em_."

"I can't just-"

_"Where you at?"_

"What?"

_"Right now. Where you at?"_

Beth clenched her jaw. "Out."

_"Why you whisperin'?"_

"Because, I-! What business is it of yours anyways?"

Rio laughed cruelly. _"Because if you ain't out gettin' me my money right now, then of course-"_

Beth hung up on him. She cleared her throat, putting her phone on vibrate.

Naturally, Rio called her back immediately.

But Beth just held her phone in her hand and let it vibrate.

"You gonna answer that?"

Beth looked up at Charlie who was looking back at her with amusement. She shook her head. "It can wait."

His call went to voicemail. Seconds later, it was ringing again.

"Sure 'bout that?"

Beth hit the decline button and smiled at Charlie. "Positive."

While she was expecting him to call a third time, the front door swung open.

"Damian, give me your-"

"Surprise!"

Everyone had jumped out again and more noisemakers went off.

Beth peeked over the bar counter just in time to see Rio's expression change from furious, to confusion, to a reluctant then sincere smile.

Everyone started gathering around him, clapping him on the shoulder, pulling him into hugs and placing kisses on his cheeks. A mixture of English and Spanish flowed through the air. And Rio was smiling now, like _actually_ smiling, from ear to ear and teeth on display.

Then she heard Marcus _and_ Jane give a very excited, “Happy birthday!”

His smile faltered for just a moment, confusion peeking through as he looked down at the Boland kids. He looked up and immediately found her, still standing behind the bar where she had hid with Charlie.

She gave him an awkward wave and mouthed a happy birthday to him.

Marcus started tugging on his shirt and Rio bent down to pick him up. Talk about the food started rising and a buffet line formed, with Rio leading it because he was the birthday boy. He was balancing three plates in his hands though. One for him, one for Marcus, and one for Jane.

Beth weaved her way through the small crowd, ignoring the curious looks on their faces as they tried to figure out who she was, coming up to the line where her other three children were patiently waiting their turn.

“Why did none of you think it was important to tell me Marcus had invited us over for his dad’s surprise birthday party?” Beth asked quietly, trying to keep the emotions off of her face.

“It’s like Marcus said. He thought you might accidentally tell him.” Kenny responded with a shrug moving a few steps forward as the line progressed.

Beth followed along. “Okay, but we can’t stay. We have to leave now."

“But Mommy, Jane’s already got her food!” Emma whined.

“And it smells really good.”

“We’re hungry!”

“Come on, ma. Let ‘em hang out for a lil’ bit.”

Beth spun around to see Rio standing in front of her, Marcus and Jane on either side of him with plates of food. She took a breath, then cleared her throat. “I, um…had no idea it was your birthday today.”

Rio shrugged. "Why'd you hang up on me?"

Beth stood up a little taller and tried to exude confidence. “I really don’t think this is the place to have this conversation."

Rio rocked his jaw, considering his next words.

Thankfully, they were interrupted.

“You really gonna eat all that, flaco?”

Damian, the man that had brought Rio here, had walked up to them and raised a teasing eyebrow at Rio’s plate. Then he looked at Beth, his eyebrow raising a bit more in interest as he looked at the surrounding kids too. “This who I think it is?” Hhe asked with a grin.

Rio sucked his teeth. “Damian, this is Elizabeth. Elizabeth, my brother Damian.”

“I invited her kids and she didn’t know anything about the party because then she would’ve accidentally told Daddy!” Marcus proudly announced.

Damian turned to look at her. “Well, I’m so glad you made it. Christopher here has told us _so much_ about you.”

“Meaning he ain’t said shit about you.” Charlie had joined the conversation, standing behind Rio and Beth could easily see that Charlie was a full head taller than Rio. “He always going on ‘bout your kids, but the moment we ask ‘bout the mama, he clams up.”

“Hey, hey, what’s gonna on here? Why’s there a crowd in the middle of the line?” The man that had announced Rio’s arrival came up to them.

“Nothin’, we was just-“

“Hey Junior! Guess who this is!” Charlie said, giving Rio’s shoulder a teasing shake.

“Ay caray, this _her_?!” Junior gave Rio’s cheek a light slap. “Man, I ain’t seen my baby brother this flustered about some chick _ever_! Not even with his baby mama!”

“How’s that one song go? Somethin’ ‘bout bein’ clumsy?”

“Oh! That one!" Junior started singing, "You got me tripin’, stumblin’, flipin’, fumblin’, clumsy cause I’m fallin’-“

“Man, would y’all _fuck off_!” Rio finally snapped.

And as soon the words were out of his mouth, someone had reached up a hand and slapped the back of his head. “Ay, mijo! Not in front the kids! Who even raised you?”

Rio turned to look at the older woman who had come up behind them. “You did, Ama,” he said with a cheeky grin.

“Hey Mom, guess who this is,”

“I’m Beth,” Beth said before either of the brothers could say anything. She held out her hand to shake the older woman’s hand. To shake _Rio’s mom’s_ hand

God, she felt like stepped into some kind of alternate universe.

Well, halfway stepped through considering there was still frustration in Rio's eyes when he looked at her.

“Rosie. Christopher’s never mentioned…” Then she looked at Beth’s kids and her eyes widened, looking back up to Beth. “Oh, _Eliza_beth! Ay, por Dios, it’s about time we finally get to meet you! And these are your kids? Oh my God, look at them, they're like little angels! Ay Christopher, you made them sound like savages!” And she delivered another slap to the back of Rio’s head.

“Ay, Ama!” Rio exclaimed, reaching his free hand up to rub where she hit him. “I didn’t say that! They’re good kids, they’re just…” Rio shrugged, looking down at them with a smirk then back up to Beth. “Just like their mama.”

Rosie clicked her tongue. “Mija, you’re going to come sit with me. Get your plate of food and I’ll save you your spot.”

Beth needed to somehow get control over this situation. “Oh, thank you, but we really can’t stay.”

“No, none of that!” Rosie waved her hand. “Come on, you get your food and sit next to me.” She motioned with her hand for Beth to continue in the food line, then grabbed Rio by the arm and pulled him along to the table, Marcus and Jane following after him dutifully.

The small crowd of Rio’s brothers dispersed, but word had quickly spread that _Elizabeth_ was here with her kids. People came up to her, shaking her hands or sometimes hugging her and introducing themselves.

She met several cousins, a few aunts and uncles, and three sister-in-laws.

Damarais, the one married to Junior and who owned the restaurant, pointed out the other kids that were running around. “Three of them running around are mine, five belong to Charlie, and Damian’s got a set of twins. Poor Rosie, she had all boys and so far all her grandchildren are boys too.” But then she looked down at Emma who was standing by Beth and Jane who had claimed her spot next to Rio. “Maybe that might change soon.”

Beth just laughed, knowing exactly what Damarais was implying. And as she finally got to the front of the line and began serving her and her kids their food, Beth wondered what exactly Rio had (or _hadn't_) told his family.

* * *

“Mijo, why aren’t you eating?”

Rio looked away from Jane, who had just finished telling some story, to his mom. “I am eatin’,” he said, scooping up a forkful of rice and beans into his mouth.

Rosie narrowed her eyes and Rio gave her cheeky grin.

“Relax, Mom,” Damian said, setting his plate down beside Marcus. “He’s just waiting for his lady love to come so they can eat together.”

Rio ignored Jane tilting her head in confusion and reached over to shove Damian’s shoulder. “Shut up, asshole.”

“Que te dije! Not in front of the kids!” Rosie reprimanded, getting up a little to slap the side of Rio’s head.

“It’s because your mommy’s right, Rio. You gotta stop saying bad words,” Jane said with her mouth full of food.

“Hey, don’t talk with food in your mouth,” Rio said, giving her a gentle poke in her side.

“'Rio'? Didn’t realize you were still usin’ that…_moniker_,” Damian asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Didn’t know you knew what moniker meant.” Rio shot back.

“Dickhead.”

Again, Rosie stood up, this time hitting the top of Damian’s head.

“Children, behave,” Charlie said as he sat next to Rosie.

But then Rosie shooed him away, saying that spot was reserved for Elizabeth and to leave space for the kids. Charlie walked around the table to sit next to Damian and Junior came over too, sitting next to Jane.

His worlds were colliding in ways he never thought they would. And of course, it had to be tonight.

At least his sister-in-laws decided to sit at the other end of the table, catching up his cousins.

His family were talking over one another, their chatter loud as they talked about the latest gossip, traded stories of the kids, teased each other. He looked down at Jane and Marcus. Marcus, used to this, wasn’t paying any attention, scooping up his fajitas with his tortilla and stuffing a huge bite into his mouth.

But Jane was enthralled, her eyes constantly moving to focus on whoever was talking the loudest.

Rio imagined the family gatherings she was used to were nothing like this.

Well, maybe a little with Annie as her aunt.

“Come on, lil’ bit, eat your food.” Rio gently reminded her.

Jane jumped a little, seeming to have forgotten that she even had food in front of her, and grabbed her fork and attempted cutting up her fajitas in smaller pieces.

Rio wiped his hands on his napkin and grabbed the utensil from Jane and took her plate. “I’ll take care of it.” He grabbed one of the knives and cut up her fajitas easily.

He ignored the way Rosie looked at him with an ill-concealed smile.

Halfway through cutting up the meat, Beth finally appeared, with the three other Boland kids trailing behind her. The chatter continued, but softened a little as curious eyes watched Beth directing the other three kids into their seats beside her and quickly diffusing an argument between Danny and Emma of who would sit next to her by declaring Kenny would be sitting next to her.

She settled into her seat beside Rosie and across from Rio, giving him a tight smile. Then she noticed Rio working on cutting up Jane’s food. “Oh, here, let me. You don’t have to…”

Rio shook his head. “Nah, I’m almost done anyways.” Which was true, cutting up just three more pieces before sliding it back to Jane.

“So how old are you now?” Danny asked, talking through a mouthful of food.

“Honey, don’t talk with your mouth full,” Beth quietly said.

Rio chuckled, “How old do you think I am?”

“Fifty.”

“Twenty-three.”

“Seventy nine.”

“Fifty six.”

Everyone laughed at the guesses and Rio shook his head, taking a sip of his drink. "I thought we talked about this. Why do y'all think I’m so old?”

“Hey, I said you were twenty three!” Kenny threw in.

“Yeah, you’re just tryin’ butter me up.”

“Ay no, I can’t believe it,” Rosie said, looking at Rio wistfully. “My baby, he’s thirty seven now.”

Beth looked at him with a raised eyebrow “So you are the youngest.”

“Why? That surprise you?” Rio asked.

Beth shook her head. “Makes sense actually.” Then, looking around at his family, she added. “I’ve kind of noticed he doesn’t like it when he doesn’t get his way. Had to deal with it fairly recently actually."

Rio clenched his jaw as he stared at her. No one noticed though, instead laughing as they all started sharing stories describing this exact quality in Rio.

“Remember that time when baby Christopher put a frog in your pillowcase because you wouldn’t let him watch his cartoons?”

“He tried taking one of my racecars once and I swear, his eyes went full black when I’m told him no.”

“And all those vases he broke when I didn’t let him come with me and my friends to go see _Halloween 5_. Didn’t Mom break that wooden spoon with how hard she whooped him afterwards? Never touched her things again at least.”

Story after story and Rio could see Beth eating it all up with bright eyes and laughing along with them. Rio pursed his lips, wanting the stories to stop already considering he had a reputation to uphold.

But how much of that reputation was left knowing that Beth had a picture of him dead asleep with all five kids huddled around him?

Besides, it had been a while since Rio saw this particular look on Beth’s face. Smiling, no tension underlying tension or façade she was trying to keep up.

He knew that part of the reason for that tension was because of a missing fifty thousand.

Soon enough, they were sharing other stories. The first and last time Damian was caught sneaking back home at three in the morning. Or when Charlie decided that at thirteen, he was going to get a job at a fast food joint, only for Rosie to show up by chance on his first day and dragging him out of there by his ear. Junior coming home after his eighteenth birthday with a huge tattoo on his arm and Rosie kicking him out, but then having a change of heart an hour later.

“Ay, no, and now look at Christopher. With that bird on his neck,” Rosie said, shaking her head with only a small trace of disappointment.

“His name is Johnny,” Jane spoke up.

Curious eyes turned to her. “Who’s that now?” Junior asked.

“Johnny.” She pointed to Rio’s neck. “That’s his name. I want to draw him a friend, but Rio always says next time.”

Everyone laughed at her and Rosie leaned over to cup her face and exclaim just how cute she was.

It was cute enough that they overlooked the fact that she called him Rio instead of Christopher.  
  
For the moment at least.

Thankfully, everyone had more of less finished eating and it was time for cake.

All the kids crowded around him, wanting to be the first one to get a slice of the cake. But before even singing happy birthday, Rosie insisted on pictures. One with her and Rio, another with Rio and his brothers, one with Rio and all his nephews, and of course one with him and Marcus.

“I want a picture too!” Jane exclaimed.

“Honey, you can get a picture with him later,” Beth said, hoping no one else heard her request.

But Jane’s voice was too loud not to be heard. Especially by Rio. “Come on, lil’ bit.” He motioned with his head for her to join them.

“Wait, I want to be in the picture too!” Danny said.

And Rio met Beth’s eyes and could see the hint of embarrassment in her eyes. He smiled and shrugged. “A’ight, Boland crew, come on. We doin’ this picture or not?”

All four of her kids scrambled to find a spot next to him, Jane climbing into his lap of course.

Marcus saw this and wasn’t completely pleased. He then told Jane to scoot over and climbed up on Rio’s lap as well, earning him a few comments of, ‘Mira! Just like his daddy!’

“Well, if it’s going to be all the kids, then you need to be in there too, Elizabeth,” Rosie said as she lowered her phone and motioned at Beth to get into the picture.

“Oh, no, I really shouldn’t-“

“Elizabeth,” Rio interrupted. “Come on.”

Beth pursed her lips and pretended like she didn’t hear the muffled snickers. She straightened her blouse and went to stand behind Kenny, positioning herself in the corner of the picture.

Rosie shook her head. “No, no, no, go sit in the chair right beside Christopher.”

Beth knew she wouldn’t get anywhere arguing. So she sat beside Rio and tried not to make any kind of comment when he seemed to instinctively put an arm around her shoulder and pull her in closer.

Because, honestly, Rio thought, what the hell? His name and reputation had already been dragged through the mud enough this evening.

At least the stories that were shared weren’t just about him.

Rosie took the picture and placed her hand over her heart. “Oh my God, I love this picture. Charlie, I want you to print this one out for me.”

Rio looked over at Beth, seeing the beginning traces of a blush on her cheek as she brushed some hair behind her ear. But then he removed his arm and took Jane and Marcus off his lap. “Man, both of y’all got boney butts.”

Candles were placed on the cake and they sang _Las Mañanitas_ followed by_ Happy Birthday_.

And as soon as they finished, his brothers began chanting, with everyone joining in.

“Mordida! Mordida! Mordida!”

Rio held up his hands. “No, I ain’t doin’ that this year!”

“Oh come on, flaco! You say that every year, but every year you do it!”

“Everyone else does it, so you gotta do it too!”

Beth turned to see that Alexis, Damian’s wife, was standing next to her. “Um, what's going on?” she asked.

Alexis smiled widely. “So it’s something that we always do. Whoever’s birthday it is, that person has to take a bite out of the cake. But, what almost always happens is that someone pushes their face into the cake!”

Beth blinked. “But…the cake…?”

Alexis waved her hand. “We always get two cakes. The backup cake’s in the fridge.”

“A’ight fine!” Rio exclaimed over everyone arguing for him to take a bite. “Where’s Charlie? Damian? Junior?”

They were all standing across from him, next to their mom. “Come on, don’t be a pussy!” Junior yelled. Which was followed by a yelp as Rosie pinched his arm.

Rio made a show of looking around behind him, only allowing Marcus to stand near him. “Can I trust you, pops?”

Marcus bit his lip and nodded, bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet.

Rio didn’t trust him one bit. But there was no way he was going to get out of this. He leaned over to bite the cake and closed his eyes in preparation for Marcus’ hands on the back of his head.

Sure enough, as soon as Rio took a bite out of the cake, Marcus' hands were on the back of his head and Rio didn’t even bother trying to fight it.

Everyone laughed and cheered as Rio pulled his face away from the cake, wiping off the clumps that hung to his face and smearing them across Marcus’ face. Marcus squealed, but didn’t make too much of an effort to avoid the cake in his face.

Rosie whisked the ruined cake away quickly, saying she didn’t want a repeat of last year where a full-blown food fight had broken out. She brought out the back-up cake and Rio started cutting up the cake and setting them on plates while Rosie began passing out cups of coffee. Everyone lined up, with the kids in the front of the line.

Beth grabbed herself a slice once she saw that everyone else had grabbed a slice and some of the kids had already grabbed a second slice. She grabbed a plate and sat in the chair next to where he was standing. “You got a little something on your face,” she said in a mostly serious voice.

Rio hummed, grabbing a napkin and wiping more frosting off his face. But Beth didn’t think it would all come off until he actually used water. “You’re funny,” he mumbled, grabbing a plate as well and sitting down next to her.

And Beth didn’t think too much about her next action.

She leaned forward and with her finger, wiped more frosting off his face, trailing down from his ear to his chin. Then she lightly popped her finger into her mouth and licked off the frosting.

Rio ran his tongue of his lips, staring at her with dark eyes. “That ain’t fair, mami,” he said in hoarse whisper.

Beth smiled, biting her bottom lip as she took a bite of her cake.

Rio let out a deep breath, then opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Rosie yelling from across the room that it was time for presents.

Rio redirected his attention back to his mom, setting down his half-eaten slice of cake as she called everyone over. Damian and Junior helped her bring the presents and cards.

Rosie documented the entire thing, telling Rio to hold up his present or card. Rio protested a little at the beginning, but like every year, there was no way out of it. He held up each item, ranging from cuff links, a few vinyls, and he groaned inwardly when he pulled out a bowtie.

“Oh come, man! Every year! I ain’t wearin’ this or any of ‘em!” Rio exclaimed, looking directly at Junior, but still holding up the purple bowtie with blue polka dots so Rosie could take her picture.

“Elizabeth! Don’t you think Christopher would look much nicer if he wore a bowtie every now and then?” Junior asked, placing all the attention on her.

Beth gave a nervous scoff. “Well, I mean…” She looked from Junior to the bowtie to Rio. Then shrugged her shoulders. “So long as you don’t pair it with that beanie you always wear, I think it’d look good.”

Beth laughed at the exaggerated look of betrayal on Rio’s face, before he shook his head and set the bowtie down to move on to the next gift.

He opened a few more cards, then moved on to the present that Beth’s kids had brought.

“When did you four buy him a present?" Beth leaned over to whisper to Kenny.

"When we went to the store Thursday," Kenny responded with a grin. "But Danny picked out something stupid."

Their behavior at the store made sense now. Beth held her breath, trying not to picture the worst possible gift Danny could've picked out.

Rio pulled out a pair of black socks with cartoon frogs, a bright green scarf and a folded up paper that had to be a drawing from Jane.

While the gifts weren’t terrible, it wouldn’t have been what Beth would’ve picked out if her kids had even told her about this party in the first place.

Now that she thought about though, Beth wasn’t sure what she would’ve picked out for him.

“Man, how’d you know I needed a new scarf? And these socks, perfect for this cold weather. And green’s my favorite color!” Rio looked at her kids with a sincere smile.

“See, I’d told you he’d like them,” Danny said as he gave Kenny a little shove.

“Look at my picture!” Jane exclaimed, moving closer, attempting to push Marcus away from Rio’s side, but the other boy did not budge. She settled for standing next to Marcus.

Rio unfolded the picture and let out a laugh. “Aw, lil’ bit, this is amazing.”

“Come on, Christopher, let me get a picture!”

Rio held up the items and the unfolded drawing.

Jane had drawn Rio surrounded by balloons and cake and at the top was written in orange crayon ‘Happy Birthday!’ But what seemed to catch everyone’s attention was the bird with ‘Johnny’ written above it and a dog with ‘Johnny’s friend’ above it as well.

There were a few more cards to be opened and Marcus’ gift was opened last.

Two tickets to a Detroit Tigers game. “Aw, pop! This is amazing! I’ll take me and my buddy to the game.”

“Daddy! One’s for me and one’s for you!”

“Oh, yeah, that sounds like a better idea.” Rio pulled Marcus in for a quick hug and a kiss, then said a quick thank you to everyone for the gifts and for organizing the party.

And while it was officially over, someone in the back had turned on the stereo and began playing Spanish music. Drinks were refilled and beers were brought out and it seemed like the real party was about to begin.

But it was getting late. The kids had an early morning tomorrow no thanks to Dean. And maybe if she snuck out already, Rio wouldn't remember about the money she owed until tomorrow morning.

She wasn't sure what she would do with a few extra hours, but she was sure she could think of something.

Beth grabbed her jacket and slipped it on, directing Emma and Jane to do the same. She started gesturing to Kenny and Danny who had joined the other boys in running around that it was time to go.

“Leaving so soon?”

Beth turned to see Rosie standing behind her. “Yeah,” she brushed some hair behind her ear. “They’ve got an early morning tomorrow and it takes a good while for them to get settled for bedtime.”

Rosie nodded. “I had four too. I get it,” she said with a laugh. “It was so nice to meet you. I expect to see you around more, yes?”

Beth smiled. She wasn't exactly sure how that would happen, the idea of it was nice. "I'd like that."

“And if you need any help with those kids, you just let me know. I wouldn’t mind watching them at all. I doubt they could do anything that surprises me with the kids I had to deal with,” she said as she pointed with her chin at Damian and Charlie who seemed like they were trying to convince one of Junior’s kids they could do magic.

Beth looked at this woman she just meet two hours ago, offering to watch all four of her kids and not even batting an eye at the challenge it would be.

And then she realized where Rio got his smile from. And not that smirk he does or the annoyed smile he usually gives her. No, his genuine smile that she so rarely saw, but now had a evening full where that smile didn’t seem to leave his face.

Kenny and Danny finally came up and began protesting, saying they didn’t want to leave yet, that they were having too much fun.

“You leavin’?” Rio asked as he came up behind her.

Beth hoped it wasn't obvious that she jumped a little. “Yeah, I was just telling your mom that these bunch have an early morning.”

Kenny let out a groan. “But it’s _Sunday_. Why do we have to get up early?”

Before she could argue with Kenny, Rio spoke up.

“Your mama said it’s time to go, then it’s time to go. And tomorrow all y’all are waking up when she says. No whinin’ or complainin’. Got it?”

They gave half-hearted nods.

Beth mouthed a thank you to Rio and began ushering her kids to the exit, waving to Rosie as they walked out.

And Beth turned to wave bye to Rio, but he was right next to her, holding open the door for them and walking out as well.

The kids ran ahead to the van while Beth and Rio ambled slowly after them.

“Your family’s really great,” Beth said after a beat. “They’re fun and I…I enjoyed myself.”

Rio nodded, looking down as he walked. “Yeah, they’re crazy. Seemed to really like you too.”

Beth grinned. “Your mom offered to babysit for me.”

“Do that and she’ll put them to work cleaning something in her house. Charlie’s always havin’ to leave his kids with her almost every weekend. She’s always making ‘em clean out shit like her garage or the attic or just helpin’ her with a deep clean of the house. They hate it, but then she’ll put on some of her music and make ‘em dance with her while they cleanin’. They say they hate that too, but they’ll be over there laughin’ and actin’ silly with her too.”

Beth looked at him. “Guess that’s where you got those dancing skills Ruby’s told me about.”

Rio finally looked up with a quick bark of laughter.

The kids started yelling across the parking lot and attempting to open the locked vehicle. Beth dug out her keys and unlocked the van, watching as they clambered in.

"Look, I swear I didn't know about this party. I was just as surprised as you were." Beth stopped walking a few feet away from the van, making sure the kids couldn't overhear them. "I wouldn't have come and..."

"And you don't got my money, do you?"

Beth swallowed hard and shook her head. "What are you going to do?"

He didn't answer her. Instead, he turned to the kids in the van and said his goodbyes and thanked them again for the present.

And like every single time Rio said goodbye to them, Jane insisted on a hug and kiss to him and Johnny.

Rio obliged before closing the van door, then he planted himself in front of her again.

"Just give us more time-"

He cut her off with a humorless chuckle. "If I had a dime for every time someone tells me that..."

"What are you going to do?" She repeated her question.

Rio blew out deep breath, sticking his hands in his coat pocket. "Nothin'."

Beth blinked. "Nothing?" She blinked a few more times. "Like 'nothing' nothing?"

Rio smirked. "What other 'nothing' is there?"

"What the catch?"

"There ain't no catch."

Beth scoffed. "No, there's _always_ a catch with you."

Rio shrugged. "Not this time."

"Why?"

Rio rolled his shoulders. "Really liked my birthday present from your kids. And Jane's picture," he blew out an exaggerated breath. "I'm framin' that one. That drawing would be worth hundred thousand easy in an art gallery."

And Beth found herself smiling in disbelief at him. "Thank you," she said softly.

"Don't mention it. Seriously."

“I’ll see you later then.”

Rio nodded, but then took a step closer to her.

She swallowed hard. “Good night, _Christopher_.”

“Good night, _Elizabeth_.”

She couldn’t help her sharp intake of air, noticing how Rio’s eyes met hers for a second before trailing down to her lips.

“Mommy, Danny farted!”

Beth jumped a little and Rio dropped his head, letting out a laugh before taking a step back.

The two of them looked to where Emma had rolled down the window and was sticking her head out the window, desperately breathing in the fresh air while Danny laughed.

"Danny, please. We all have to breathe that in now." Beth groaned out.

Danny just kept laughing.

Beth turned back to Rio. “I really should get going now.”

Rio nodded. “See you later then.” He walked backwards a few steps, waving to the kids in the van, before turning around to head back into the restaurant.

Beth got in the van and watched Rio go back inside. As he opened the door, she saw his three brothers there, waiting for him. They seemed to be teasing him, clapping his back and laughing, while Rio tried shrugging them off.

She smiled to herself as she pulled out of the parking lot and headed back home.

When she got home, she messaged Ruby and Annie and told them they fifty thousand had been taken care.  
  
They immediately responded with questions of how and what did you do?  
  
Beth wrote back. _He really liked a picture Jane drew him._  
  
Ruby's message made her laugh.  
  
_Classic Gangsitter_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look at that! I wrote up a surprise second part! Partly to prep for another one-shot that's going to be added to this series soon...!

Rio knew that as soon as he walked through that door, his brothers would be waiting for him. Hesitating wouldn’t help him at all. So he walked across the parking lot, his hands in his pockets and went inside the restaurant with his head held high.

As soon as he was through the entrance, he felt Charlie place a hand on his shoulder. “Gather ‘round, let’s see who’s gonna win the bet!”

Rio tried shrugging him off, but then Junior’s hand was cupping his chin and turning his face side to side. “She did have lipstick on right? Was it that matte stuff that doesn’t come off?”

“Nah, it was that bright red stuff that would _definitely _come off,” Damian said as he joined in their examining of his face.

"Okay, she wasn't wearing _bright red_, but it would definitely have rubbed off on his face and we would be able to see it."

Finally, Rio shoved them aside. “What the hell?”

Charlie grinned as he stepped back to give Rio his space. He held out his hand. “Come on, bitches. You both owe me fifty.”

Junior and Damian grumbled, but pulled out their wallets and handed Charlie the cash.

Rio rolled his eyes. “Do I even wanna know?”

“Probably not,” Damian said.

But Junior opened his mouth to explain. “Damian said you would give her a nice kiss on the lips, I said she was probably only gonna give you a kiss on the cheek since her kids were there. Charlie said no kisses were gonna be involved since you ain’t got the balls.”

Rio shoved Junior, glaring at his brothers. “Assholes.”

They laughed, poking him in the side and clapping their hands even more on his back.

The four brothers walked further into the restaurant, sitting back down at the table where they had eaten, each grabbing either a beer or a shot of tequila. They watched the kids running around, cousins and aunts and uncles dancing in the middle where they made their own dancefloor. Rosie was talking with her three daughters-in-law’s, Alexis, Damaris, and Jimena.

“You know Mom’s telling them all about her plan on making sure you marry her,” Junior said as he took a sip of his tequila. "Hell, I even think she'd settle for you two just living together."

Rio grabbed his own shot and downed it in one gulp. He grimaced only a little before shaking his head. “Ain’t gonna happen.”

“Sure ‘bout that? You two seemed pretty cozy together, sitting down all alone eatin’ cake, showing you the spots of frosting you missed…” Charlie lifted a finger to mime the way Elizabeth had wiped frosting off his face and dramatically batting his eyelashes.

Rio pushed his hand out of his face, his brothers immediately laughing and Rio hating that he was laughing a little too.

“But seriously, man, she seems great. You should bring her around more often.” Charlie leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms as he watched the kids. Then he groaned as he saw his oldest reaching into the cooler where they had the beers. “Jovani! What the hell you think you doin’?!” he yelled, getting out of his chair and heading over to Jovani. They watched as he pulled the beer out of Jovani’s hand and began lecturing him about the dangers of underage drinking.

The three men watched, Damian smirking as he sipped his own beer. “So then no one’s told him about already catching Jovani finishing off a whole beer at that quince last month?”

“Nah, he’s seventeen and he swears up and down that’s the first time he’s ever had a drink,” Junior said.

“But isn’t that what you said when Mom caught you with that whiskey at eighteen?” Rio asked with a smirk. “Hadn’t you been drinking for a year.”

Junior shrugged. “That’s different.

They laughed and compared notes of when they thought it was socially acceptable to let their kids drink at a family function under strict supervision. Junior said once they were twenty-one, Damian said eighteen.

Rio said never.

“Ah, come on, why you gotta be such a hard ass!” Junior shoved Rio a little, filling his shot glass with more tequila. “Before you know it, Marcus is gonna be all grown up and I bet you anythin’ he’s gonna be taller than you and could probably win at any drinking game against his tios.”

Rio shook his head. “Nah, pop’s gonna be different. He ain’t gonna be like me.”

“Yeah, gotta say I hope so too,” Damian said, his voice taking on a much serious tone. “Your personality kinda sucks.”

Junior snorted.

Rio glared at his grinning brothers and grabbed Charlie’s forgotten shot of tequila. It didn’t look like he was coming back as he now seemed to be in the middle of a small disagreement with his wife.

“Do you think Marcus will come up with his own stupid nickname?” Damian asked Junior. “Like _Rio_ over here.”

Junior raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah, I caught that too. Seems like the kids and Elizabeth know you by _Rio_. How’d you meet her anyways?”

“I wanna know why he’s still usin’ that name.” Damian said with a hint of a threat in his voice. “She that business partner you were complainin’ about on the way over here?”

The conversation was officially serious now and Rio didn’t feel like dealing with it.

But these were his brothers and they were persistent and were some of the few people in the world that could see straight through him.

"Damnit, Christopher, you swore you were gonna get out. And now you've got someone like Elizabeth in business with you. What the hell are you even thinking?"

“You’re gonna send Mom to her grave,” Junior grumbled.

“I’m not,” Rio growled back. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Sure ‘bout that?” Damian asked. “Because from what I understand, nothing good comes from catching feelings for a _business partner_.”

“I said I know what I’m doing.”

Damian stood up abruptly and stared down at Rio.

Rio met his gaze with a challenge in his eyes.

“She seems like a nice person. Don’t screw up her life," Damian said before walking away to grab another beer and sitting down with Alexis and some of their cousins.

Junior blew out a heavy breath. “Charlie’s gonna beat your ass if he finds out.”

“He ain’t gonna find out ‘cause you aren’t gonna say anything.”

Junior held up his hands. “I don’t wanna be pulled into that bullshit again. I served my time and lost two years. Ain’t doin’ it again. You still doin’ it? Fine. But I ain’t about to cover your ass if Charlie comes askin’ questions and you sure as hell know Damian won’t either.” Junior pursed his lips, then turned to Rio and added one last thing. “But no one’s gonna tell Mom. Not until your face is plastered all over the news again.”

Rio gave a wry smile, matching the one on Junior’s face. “That last time was her fault actually.”

Junior let out a surprised laugh. “You serious?”

Rio nodded his head, He smiled, despite that still being a very sore subject.

“Yet you still got her workin’ for you? Damn. You’re in deep, aren’t you?”

Now, Rio was officially uncomfortable with the conversation. He just grunted and gave a small shake of his head. Neither confirming or denying.

Junior smirked as he stood. “But it’s like you always say, flaco. ‘I know what I’m doin’,” he said, mimicking Rio’s voice, but not even trying to make it sound realistic.

Rio watched him walk away, side-stepping one of their Tio’s that was already drunk to avoid dancing with him. Just as he did though, his youngest kid collided with his legs and looked up at him, obviously begging for something.

Damian’s two boys ran up to their parents, begging for something as well. Rio’s eyes moved around the room and saw Charlie’s two youngest interrupting the disagreement between their parents, clasping their hands together in a plea as they explained whatever it was they wanted.

And Rio knew exactly what was about to happen.

“Daddy!”

Marcus caught Rio momentarily off-guard as he jumped into his lap. He let out an involuntary grunt as he adjusted to having Marcus’ weight on him. “All right, what is it?” Rio asked, knowing he was only here to ask for whatever it was his other cousins were currently asking their parents for.

“Umm…so did you like your party?”

Rio nodded, deciding to humor Marcus for a bit. “I did. You planned it good. I didn’t even have any idea.”

Marcus beamed. “And you were happy I invited Miss ‘Lizbeth too, right?”

“Yeah, I was,” Rio said, able to say that he wasn’t lying.

“Ummm…soooo…do you want more cake?”

“You got somethin’ to ask me, just ask already.”

“Can I spend the night with Abuela? Frankie and Freddie and Julian and Victor and Ivan are all spending the night too!”

Rio looked to see his brothers listening to their kids with unimpressed faces as they made the same request as Marcus.

But then he saw Alexis giving Frankie and Freddie permission, which Damian, of course, had to agree with. And with one of his brothers agreeing, that meant all the kids that wanted to would be spending the night with Rosie.

Before Rio could make up his mind, Rosie came over and sat down. “Let him spend the night.”

“You’re gonna have your hands full with six boys under your roof, all of ‘em under the age of thirteen.”

Rosie waved her hand. “I know none of you ever believe me, but none of them give me any trouble. They all behave like angels with me.”

“Because you bribe ‘em with food.”

Marcus nodded in confirmation. “It’s because she cooks better than anyone in the whole entire world.”

Rio laughed. “All right fine. But if Abuela’s gotta call me ‘cause your acting out, you’re coming back home.”

“Thanks Daddy!” Marcus exclaimed, throwing his arms around Rio’s neck before jumping off his lap and running to confirm that his other cousins were spending the night.

“He’s such a good boy,” Rosie said with a fond smile as she watched Marcus running around with Freddie and Frankie, joining Ivan’s side to help convince Junior. “And he looks out for you too. I mean, look at him. Inviting Elizabeth to your party.”

“Mom…” Rio knew exactly where this conversation was going. He already had to go through it with Damian and Charlie. He didn’t want to have it with his mom of all people.

“I’m just saying. I really like her. And she’s so good with all those kids and Marcus already acts like her kids are his brothers and sisters-“

“I ain’t talkin’ about this.”

“I just want to see you happy, mijo.”

“I am.” Rio wrapped an arm around her and pulled his mom into a hug. “I’ve got all the family I need in this room.”

Rosie let out a scoff, but still nestled into his hug. “You can’t lie to me.”

Rio sighed, releasing his hold on his mom and leaning back in his chair. “I don’t wanna talk about this.”

“Fine." Rosie stuffed her hands into her sweater pockets. "But I will say it has been such a long time since I’ve seen you so relaxed and I know it's because she was here. And as soon as she left, you just tensed up so much again.”

Rio shook his head. And he considered himself to actually feel a little relaxed right now with all of his family.

But even if he did feel relaxed, there was always that small tension in his shoulders that seemed permanent.

Except for when Elizabeth was around.

Shit.

Rosie let out a small sigh. “Andale, go dance with one of your Tia’s. They always love dancing with you. Besides, it’s your party and I want to see you having fun.”

Rio made a show of getting up reluctantly, but then Rosie reached up and slapped his arm, shooing him away. He laughed a little, before making his way towards one of his Tia’s, who immediately grabbed his hand and danced with him, ignoring the teasing coming from his brothers and cousins.

And surrounded by everyone in the room, with the music blaring and kids running around and laughter coming from almost every table, Rio could pretend for just one moment that he didn’t feel as if something was missing.

He danced with a few other of his Tia’s, cheered on one of his drunk Tio’s as he began to badly sing a corrido about living back in Mexico on a ranch with his woman by his side. He joined in the teasing when he, Junior, and Damian caught Charlie and Jimena sneaking back to the party after disappearing to the storage room for a few minutes.

It wasn’t until the party was beginning to wind down and he saw Marcus curled up on one of the booths half-asleep that he thought to check what time it was.

Except his phone wasn’t in his pocket.

Rio frowned, patting himself and feeling worry beginning to bubble up in his stomach. It was his personal phone, but still. He couldn’t afford to lose it anywhere.

He retraced his steps, avoiding a few of his cousins as they pulled out cleaning supplies and avoided Damaris, Alexis, and Jimena because then they’d put him to take out the trash or clear off the tables or hand him a mop and point out all the spilled food and drinks that needed to be cleaned up.

He found his phone on the table where he had been sitting with his brothers and mom. It was odd, Rio was almost certain that he hadn’t pulled it out of his jacket the entire night.

So what was it doing on the table?

But it was almost two in the morning and he was tired and Rosie was beginning to gather all the boys that were planning on spending the night.

His mind focused on grabbing Marcus and making sure he was good to go with Rosie.

And once Rosie left with all the younger kids, the cleaning process sped up and before Rio knew it, he was standing outside with his brothers as Damaris and Junior locked up the restaurant.

All thoughts of how his phone ended up on the table disappeared.

* * *

Beth woke up earlier than usual. She had to in order to make sure the kids had a good breakfast because she was almost positive that wherever Dean was taking them, he hadn’t planned ahead enough to get them something to eat aside from donuts.

The night before felt like a dream. Meeting Rio’s family, seeing him in such a relaxed state…whatever the hell was about to happen between them outside the restaurant if the kids hadn’t interrupted them.

Except she knew exactly what would've happened and each time she thought about it, her breath caught a little in her chest.

But Beth was sure things would go back to business. Because she wasn’t sure how to deal with their partnership or relationship or whatever the hell this was if it didn’t.

She didn’t end up checking her phone until after getting the kids up and calling them downstairs for breakfast.

There were two messages. One from Dean and one from an unfamiliar number. She ignored the message from Dean that was a reminder of what time he was coming for the kids and instead focused in on the second message.

_Hi mija! It’s Rosie! Christopher gave me your number and I wanted to make sure you had mine because I was serious about watching your kids anytime you needed help with them. So glad I finally got to meet you!!_

Beth read the message a few times, realizing she never took it off vibrate from the party and that’s why she didn’t notice the message come in.

With a smile, Beth typed out a quick reply.

_It was so nice meeting you too! Thanks so much for the offer._

And she saved the number, unable to believe that she had Rio’s mom’s number.

But then her kids came running down the stairs and were yelling and shoving and asking what was for breakfast and making small complaints about having to wake up so early.

Beth didn’t even have a chance to think of how odd it was that Rio actually gave Rosie her number.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rio's brothers definitely do not approve of his life choices.

**Author's Note:**

> Quick translations:  
Flaco - Skinny, somebody almost always has this nickname in Hispanic families  
Que te dije - What did I tell you  
Mordida - Bite, it's the best/worst tradition at Mexican (not sure about the rest of Latin America?) birthday parties


End file.
